


The First Morning

by james_pwyll



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23823487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/james_pwyll/pseuds/james_pwyll
Summary: Zarkon, the mighty leader of the Galra Empire, has accomplished a feat that none ever thought he would. He has gotten married. For him and his beloved wife Honerva, life is good, and on this, the first dawn after their union, they have much to talk about.
Relationships: Haggar/Zarkon (Voltron)
Kudos: 6





	The First Morning

As with many a deep sleep, it was not exactly clear when consciousness finally returned to Honerva, but it came when the tiniest sliver of light toughed her eyelid through the tall curtains. Rousing from her pleasant slumber, the Altean scientist soon started to smile, remembering well all that came in the night before. A soft moan escaped her, and though she did not open her eyes, gentle words were uttered all the same. "Good morning, Zarkon." But when no response was heard, she elected instead to stretch out her hand, no doubt expecting to feel the stern face of her still-sleeping partner. But instead of that, she felt only an empty mattress, and this finally caused her to open her eyes. Sure enough, the other side of the bed was empty, and though the light was still dim in these early hours, she could tell that he was not anywhere else in the room either. Sitting upright, Honerva held the bed-sheets to her bare chest, her eyes moving all over. "Husband?"

As if to answer her, the door of the chamber opened, allowing in greater light, which caused her eyes to wince briefly. After she'd adjusted to this, however, she looked on with surprise to find that it was none other than the one she sought. Zarkon, mighty warrior and leader of the Galra people. But more than that, he was, after yesterday, her husband, and one who entered their room carrying what was unmistakably a tray with a bowl on it. It was, to put it mildly, a strange sight. As the towering and armored man approached, he looked with uncertainty to the tray, then to his wife, only speaking once he reached the side of the bed. "I...made you some breakfast."

Now, Honerva was in no way going to refuse the prospect of breakfast in bed, yet the sight of this great stoic fighter providing her with one naturally brought a look of amusement to her. "You cook?"

Zarkon frowned to that. "I am the leader of an empire, my love. I assure you I can prepare a simple soup."

He reached down carefully, offering his beloved the food in question. Smiling, Honerva accepted, but that smile faded when she finally looked upon the soup itself. It was definitely liquid, that much was certain, though the color and consistency was something she'd never once seen in any soup by any other person. Still, this was the first breakfast her husband had ever made for her, and she wasn't about to turn it down now. So, giving Zarkon one more smile, she took the spoon at the side of the bowl, plunged it into the liquid, then brought it up to her mouth. In it went, and instantly her expression became one of discomfort. Swallowing didn't make it any better, and after a few moments of pondering how best to respond, which was hard even for a mind as sharp as hers, she finally broke the silence. "Oh...well...it's definitely got a distinct and memorable..."

"It's terrible, isn't it?" Zarkon interrupted.

Honerva's shoulders slumped. "Husband, I adore you...but yes, that's the most unappealing meal I've ever had."

The Emperor sighed. "I feared it might be." He looked over his sounder. "I could have sworn I put in the right measurements of everything. Even those tablespoons of mikala powder."

Honerva stared at him for a time. "...Tablespoons?"

Trying hard to cover his uncertainty, Zarkon scratched the back of his neck. "In hindsight...it might have been asking for teaspoons."

His wife couldn't hold it any longer, and let out a hearty guffaw over what had just transpired. Zarkon, though still somewhat embarrassed at his own blunder, managed a laugh of his own. Though, like with everything to do with the Emperor, it was far more restrained than that of the woman he loved. His eyes turned to the curtains of their chamber, and he walked over, with Honerva taking this opportunity to set the soup aside and finally get out of bed. Reaching over to her bedside table, she took hold of her dressing gown, and managed to get it on just as her husband pulled back the curtains. Her eyes once more took a moment to adjust, but when they did they were greeted with the beautiful sight of the Daibazaal morning. She gave a soft smile to the view. "I'm not sure I will ever get used to seeing a dawn on another world like this."

Turning towards her, Zarkon gave one of his far rarer smiles. "If fate is kind, you will look upon it as dearly as I do one day." He reached out his hand, offering it to her, and after only a moment, Honerva walked over and accepted it. Standing close, the two newlywed gazed into each others' eyes, with Zarkon looking to her far more gently than he would with anyone else. "It's strange to think on it. Marriage. All my life I have known only rule and battle." He looked out of the window, to his world. "My people have only ever known me as the warrior-leader. To fall in love is...it is not something I had ever considered for myself."

Honerva reached up, placing her hand upon the side of his face and gently guiding it to look at her once more. "I used to think the same. It was just me and my research. Romantic entanglements were about as far removed from my mind as you could get."

Zarkon chuckled briefly. "I guess our time together changed us both."

"For the better," Honerva concurred.

Taking the hand upon his cheek, Zarkon gave it a quick kiss, then once more allowed his eyes to drift to the view outside their window. Eventually, they looked upwards, to the stars, and to one star in particular. "I owe Alfor a great debt. Were it not for him and the others, I might never have met you at all."

Honerva considered that, then smirked slightly. "Oh, I like to think we'd have still met."

Zarkon arched an eyebrow. "How so?"

Honerva gestured to the view outside. "My life's work has been the advancement of scientific knowledge. With the arrival of the comet, we stand upon the edge of an era of discovery the likes of which we'd have never known before." She smirked as she again regarded her husband. "Even if I wasn't the one Alfor chose to study it, I'd have found my way here sooner or later."

Zarkon smiled to her. "That you would. If unknown discoveries were here, armies, monsters and the universe itself could not have kept you from it."

Honerva took a deep breath, her mind looking back to those very discoveries. "When I arrived here...I never truly appreciated what was happening. I knew that I'd find something interesting, that much was certain when talking about new comets. But the sheer scale of what we've uncovered so far...it's beyond anything we can imagine."

Letting her go, Zarkon walked to the window, opening it up and taking a step onto the balcony. Honerva briefly shivered with the fresh air that poured in, but she quickly recovered, following him as he began to speak. "Alfor has spoken to me many times of the ways in which his people and the others of our alliance have benefited. But my people..." He held onto the railings at the edge of the balcony. "We stand here at the centre of it all." His eyes looked up to the stars. "When I stop to consider where this all might lead to, just how high we can climb...I cannot fathom it." Slowly, he looked to her as she finally stood by his side once more. "Where will it go, Honerva? Where is the limit that we're aiming for?"

Looking to those very stars herself, Honerva was quiet for a long time. There was no listing of scientific advancements being cited, no speculations, just quiet contemplation on her part. When she finally did speak, it was with thoughtfulness. "I suppose...we can never say for certain. Perhaps there will be no end to it. Perhaps this advancement will simply...keep going."

Zarkon considered that, tapping the railing with his finger. "Nothing lasts forever, Honerva. Sooner or later, conclusions always come. To people, to eras, even to worlds." He looked down, to the city below his spire. "Even my beloved home-world will one day turn to dust, like so many worlds gone by."

Honerva smiled to him. "I wouldn't worry, love. Daibazaal still has life aplenty. We'll both be long gone before this world ever falls."

Her husband took a deep breath, then smiled again to her. "Perhaps it is best if we leave such grand thoughts alone for now. Today is our first day as husband and wife. It wouldn't do to spend it all on high thoughts of futures yet to come, or on our work."

After taking a moment to make doubly sure that her dressing gown was tied up properly, Honerva smiled back to him. "No doubt you're right, Zarkon." She gave him a sly look. "If we're lucky, there might still be some of our wedding cake in the kitchens, if you're feeling peckish."

Zarkon grimaced somewhat. "I appreciate the offer, but I was never really one for confectioneries. You're certainly free to have some, since my own attempts at making breakfast weren't exactly...successful."

A quick giggle from Honerva. "Perhaps not. After all, chances are Gyrgan's already downed the whole thing by now."

Zarkon raised his hand to his temple, rubbing it slightly as if to relieve stress. "I swear, that Rygnirathian would have gobbled the entire feast if there hadn't been any witnesses."

As the two began to walk towards the doors of their chambers, Honerva's arm in Zarkon's, the former looked to him fondly. "I hear he was too busy trying to stop Blaytz from flirting with every single handmaiden at the after-wedding festivities."

Zarkon grumbled. "How he's managed to avoid fathering children on every world in this sector I'll never know."

Honerva, having heard those words, looked to him with some curiosity. "Would...would you consider that, Zarkon?"

It took no time whatsoever for her husband to understand what she was referring to, and as they finally left the chambers, he gave her an answer. "To be a parent? I know not. It took a long time just for me to think of myself as one day being a husband."

Honerva smiled, patting him on the arm she held. "I understand. Truth be told I feel much the same way. We both have so much in our lives as it is, and likely have a great deal more to come. But...one day..."

Here, Zarkon halted, as did Honerva, and after standing in silence together for some time, the great Emperor of the Galra looked down to the woman he'd pledged his life to and smiled. "If the day should come when that will pass, when it is you, myself and whatever child we bring into the world...I swear to you, Honerva, no family in this universe will be happier than ours." His smile grew. "And on that day, whenever it arrives, not even the beauty of my own world will compare to the sight of those close to me."

Honerva was clearly touched, but not so much so that she was unable to look to him with some playful scepticism. "I love you, Zarkon, but I never took you for having such a poetic streak to you."

As he'd done earlier, Zarkon raised an eyebrow. "My love, for you, I am willing to cite the words of even Glangar the Bard."

Honerva quivered. "Let's not go that far. I still get nightmares from all those days my teachers asked us all to memorise his work."

They laughed together, and as they resumed their walk down the hall, with Galra soldiers and sentries giving instinctive salutes, the Emperor took a deep breath, then exhaling with clear contentment. "Come, wife...let us greet this new day...and look to a bright future together."


End file.
